A look at what has changed in business from the perspective of small business owners.

1. Shifting Gears:
Stories from Small Business Owners

2. It’s clear life and business as we know it has fundamentally changed — but what does that look like for the local florist shop, neighborhood dentist, or the
two-person design agency working out of their homes? We collected stories from dozens of small business owners in a wide variety of industries about
the changes they’ve made, the lessons they’ve learned, and what has been their biggest win despite all the challenges.
We asked small business owners, what’s changed?

3. “We have pivoted to telephonic and online
services in a manner that has allowed
business to continue, and even increase. We
will continue rethinking how we approach
servicing our clients, with particular
emphasis on virtual and cloud-based
systems to meet our clients where they are.”
Laura Jane Eckstein
LAURA ECKSTEIN LAW, LLC

4. Pete Wilking
“Already being a paperless office organization
has certainly been a great thing with remote
functioning capabilities ensured there was no
gap in service or production.”
A1A SOLAR CONTRACTING, INC.

5. Barbara Davis
BADDOGS, INC.
“We are a dog training business. We have had to
suspend large group lessons. We are doing some
training consults using Zoom, and others
in-office, allowing only one client appointment at a
time. Our class sizes have always been small and that
will continue after this time.
We’ve also had to be more flexible about how we offer
various services and we’ll likely follow on those
practices once we’re completely open. If we
demonstrate concern and care for our clients, they do
notice and appreciate us.”

6. “As a business owner, learning I need time to think and
plan rather than react! Many of the things I have
implemented lately would have helped us years ago if
I had taken time to think about it.
We have added safety and sanitation procedures
since we work with older adults. We are adding
another service besides relocation services to bring in
more business. We have had time to refine our
procedures add new processes to help us automate
more of our business. We’ve also been getting
additional education.”
Christine Smart
DESIGNING MOVES

7. Carolyn Sandgren Kempf
“The belief in the human desire to do good, to
change the world, and at the very worst time in
history (at least for my generation) there is a
way to use your tools, resources, and company
to do good. We are so excited about having the
skill set and ability to negotiate and find
vendors who will give free luggage to those
traveling for humanitarian work.
Also, we win when we become educators to
teach the traveling public how to search out
and do good and random acts of kindness
abroad and in our own country.”
ELITE TRAVEL, INC.

8. “Think outside the box. COVID is forcing us
to be creative. Our business has actually
grown during this lockdown. Now with Ruby,
we are more efficient, and our clients are
happy.”
Seinya H. Samforay
THE FORAY FIRM

9. Steven J. Richardson Esq.
“I made major revisions to my workflows in order
to be more paperless and location independent.
[I] use more features in Clio and Microsoft 365 re:
cloud storage of documents. [I] leverage my VoIP
phone to be able to answer calls at home. [I] use
MS Teams meetings for video conferences with
clients and potential clients. I can serve more
clients over a broader geographic area through
virtual meetings and make more money.”
LAW OFFICES OF STEVEN J. RICHARDSON, PC

10. “Don't Panic. Think. Be ready to act decisively.
We're a law firm that takes care of small
businesses and we've gone to a completely
remote and virtual format for our operations.
As for our clients, we're helping them find ways to
reorganize their businesses so that they can
continue to prosper in this new, contactless
society."
Freya Shoffner
SHOFFNER & ASSOCIATES

11. “Not everyone is able to transition to working at
home. Some people miss the social connection that
work at affords. From a management perspective,
though, I was uncertain as to whether a remote office
would work — I am now a convert. Having a virtual
office means that we can hire qualified people from
anywhere.
As positions open, we can cast a broader net to
attract those most qualified. There may be some
challenges with onboarding, though I’m confident
that the right person would adjust well.”
Gary Bess
GARY BESS ASSOCIATES

12. Deborah Usher
“The current world crisis doesn’t change
[our] work. We have a small office
building and therefore it is easier for
clients to be more comfortable. We do
not spend any time discussing the fear
and speculation, but rather we speak
hope and help directly one on one.
That is the main reminder...people still
need our help.”
USHER LAW FIRM, P.A.

13. “Since most of my business is Internet based
anyway, the only things I have needed to do
where update the website to let current and
potential clients know I was still open and set
up and improve my video mediation skills.
Family law clients who are attracted to a
non-adversarial approach to resolving
disputes are hungry for a non-court option.”
Thomas Johnson
DIVORCE SHOPPE

14. Erin Jackson
“We're a small law firm that works with small healthcare
practices and professionals, so we've had to adapt every
detail of our practice! We've moved to an entirely remote
practice structure, which has helped us empathize well
with our clients' transitions to telemedicine.
We'll definitely allow more flexible work-from-home
policies! Our team has been very productive, and we'll
defer more to them regarding where they work. We'll
probably also move into an office with more delineations
of personal space, so we're already planning for the
number of doggy doors we'll need installed to allow
everybody equal access to the firm's most popular
member, Crosby.”
JACKSON LLP HEALTHCARE LAWYERS

15. “The biggest win we will take away from this
experience is the importance of running an
operation with reduced overhead, therefore you
are able to sustain operations even with a 35%
reduction in productivity. I also learned to always
be prepared to pivot when the conventional way
of conducting business no longer works.”
Kwane Mitchell Watson
KARE MOBILE INC

16. “I’m working from home most of the time and doing a
lot of phone and video meetings. The pace has
definitely slowed down and made me become more
intentional about what kind of clients I choose to work
with. I realize that busier is not always better.
As a lawyer, it’s easy to fall into the misconception that
you need to be really stressed and busy to make a
living. I don’t plan to get back on the hamster wheel
once things are back to “normal.” Normal felt like a
heart attack all the time. I am liking the new work-life
balance."
Heather R. Straub
LAW OFFICES OF HEATHER R. STRAUB, PLLC

17. Neil W. Tyra
“Video conferencing has become so
mainstream that it will forever replace
many other types of client interaction.
Remote signing and notarization of
estate planning documents will become
commonplace.”
THE TYRA LAW FIRM, LLC

18. “We have implemented new regulations such
as stay in your car until we have you come in,
wear masks, taking temperature and asking
health questions.
We are huggers at the salon. It’s hard to not do
that. We are a very clean salon; however, we
have changed up our cleaning products and
how we clean.”
Robin DeTrude
ELAINE’S SALON

19. Beatriz Zyne
“Stay focused. Do not procrastinate. Stay on top
of your virtual office set-up. I was set up virtually
before COVID-19. However, adapting my clients
to virtual meetings and assuring them that the
job will get done has been one of the
challenges.”
BEATRIZ ZYNE P.A.

20. Business Unusual
OUR EXPERT SERIES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, NOW
Register for weekly emails at ruby.com/smb

21. 866-611-ruby (7829)
manager@ruby.com
support@ruby.com
Connect with Ruby.